Hy Lit, King of Philadelphia Radio

One of my favorite memories from my junior year in high school was my introduction to Hy Lit as a radio personality, on the old "Kixx 101 and a half" in Trenton, New Jersey...Hyski, as he was prone to call himself, introduced me to lots of great music on what was then a "free format" middle-of-the-road pop/rock/soul station...He'd play a Four Tops song, followed by something by Adam & the Ants, followed by something by Steely Dan, and finish the set with something by Roy Orbison...It was a great way to learn about a lot of music, and when he moved back into Philadelphia radio in the early 1980s, I was already a student at Villanova and a dedicated fan...I had the pleasure to meet him once in Trenton at a "appearance," where he autographed a photo for me...My record collection in the 1980s and well into the 1990s was heavily influenced by Hy Lit, with a particular emphasis on "oldies" and Motown stuff...Finding records by The Moments or the Chi-Lites became a quest...At some point he became an on-air host on WOGL-FM Oldies 98 in Philadelphia, and was on regularly until a couple years ago...Hy Lit also spent a season in my youth as the public address announcer for the Philadelphia 76ers, during the Julius Erving-Maurice Cheeks-Bobby Jones era (but before Moses Malone arrived)...A few years ago, before Janice and I got married, we were looking at buying a house in Bala Cynwyd, and went out to a number of "open houses" on some weekends in early 2002...One of the houses we went through just happened to be Hy Lit's, and there was the man himself, in one of the master bedrooms, sitting watching the Sixers on TV...I was happy to see him, and made sure to introduced Janice to him, and he was pleased that I knew who he was and what he was all about...Hy Lit passed away unexpectedly on November 17, and I'm one of a great many who will miss him...Be sure to visit his online radio station, Hy Lit Radio, which will continue (I hope) for many, many more years, guided by his son, Sam. Thanks, Hyski, for all the great memories!

Jimmy Rollins Named 2007 National League MVP

What a thrill for Phillies fans (like me) to have the National League MVP play on our team two consecutive years...Thank you for a great year! Next year, we take the National League Championship (and maybe more)...

Dennis Miller -- Radio, TV -- Worth Looking For

Over the last several months, we've found ourselves addicted to Dennis Miller's radio talk show, aired on tape-delay from 9 p.m. to Midnight here in Philadelphia, but broadcast live online from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Eastern time on "The Dennis Miller Zone" web site...Dennis has always been an acquired taste for some, but for me, he's been a constant source of entertainment ever since his days as Weekend Update "anchor" on Saturday Night Live, through his HBO specials and "Dennis Miller Live," even his syndicated late-night talk show from the mid-1990s...I'll always remember seeing his act live at the old Desert Inn in Las Vegas in the fall of 1996 with my friend and colleague Ron Pinsky...Needless to say, we were pleased to see the debut of his new "Sports Unfiltered with Dennis Miller" talk show on Versus, which debuted Tuesday night...Unfortunately, it's up against "Boston Legal" which in my mind is always a must-see (William Shatner and James Spader -- how can you go wrong), and his radio show is also on at the same time in Philly...Fortunately, Versus scheduled a "re-broadcast" for Wednesday nights at 8, which nicely fills the gap between "As Time Goes By" on WHYY at 7:30 p.m. and "The Unit" at 9 p.m. on CBS (I need to get out of the house more)...Anyway, we gave the new Dennis Miller TV show an 8 out of 10 points -- his opening monologue was funny, his closing segment was funny, and two out of his three guests were entertaining -- my mind always wanders off when ever anyone starts talking about gambling and betting lines on NFL games, and the fact that people make careers out of handicapping the NFL has always bothered me (that's all that anti-gambling message beaten into my head by the NCAA when I was working in the Villanova athletic department)...Consider this a recommendation to listen to Dennis on the radio, and watch his new show on Versus...